Enterprise Rent-A-Car is adding a Toyota Prius Plug-In hybrid demonstration vehicle to the WeCar auto sharing program at Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale, Calif., campus.
Toyota is delivering more than 160 Prius PHVs across the United States as part of a demonstration program aimed at gathering real-world driving data and informing the public about plug-in hybrid technology.
The University of Southern California has placed an order for nine additional T3 Motion ESVs (pictured). In 2007, USC entered a trial period with T3 ESVs – or electric standup vehicles – to assess the vehicle benefits and capabilities for security initiatives. Since then, the school has purchased a total of 28 ESVs - making their fleet the largest of any university worldwide. The vehicles have been used on the 300-acre campus for security patrol checks, student escorts, traffic and crowd control.
In 2010, investors gave $930 million to alternative fuels start-ups, a four-year low, according to a report by Lux Research. However, according to Hedging Bets with Flexibility in Alternative Fuels, investment has climbed dramatically to an all-time high of $698 million for companies with flexible technologies that can use a variety of feedstocks or generate diverse end products. As this trend continues, start-ups stuck with less flexible technologies will be forced out of the industry, the report says.
Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company has launched the USS-120A an aerodynamic side skirt for haulage trucks. The USS-120A is U.S. EPA SmartWay verified as an “advanced side skirt,” meaning it provides a minimum of five percent fuel savings, and can be used with low rolling resistance tires on dry vans to achieve California Air Resources Board compliance, Utility says.
